Updated on: July 27, 2026 / 6:58 AM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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Federal wildlife authorities are investigating after a video appeared to show a person kicking a protected sea lion at a beach in California. A spokesperson for the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed an ongoing investigation into the incident but declined to provide additional details Sunday. The video appears to show a person throwing kicks at the sea lion at La Jolla Cove in San Diego as at least one other person can be heard laughing in the background. The person follows the sea lion, throwing more kicks at the animal as it tries to scoot away before the video ends. "NOAA Fisheries' Office of Law Enforcement is investigating reports of a video on social media that shows an interaction between an individual and sea lion, allegedly in La Jolla Cove," a spokesperson for the agency said. "In the video, the individual appears to be kicking the sea lion. This is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot provide further details at this time."The agency said it has only four enforcement officers covering the entire state of California, relying on partnerships with local park rangers and California Fish and Wildlife for enforcement presence at the cove, CBS affiliate KFMB reported."There are rangers here, and then we are also here, but we're just volunteers, so we can't be here at all times, and we can't really enforce anything like that," Ashley Hurwitz, a Seal Society volunteer, told the station.The person in the video has not been publicly identified.
